(for there were two tigers), rushed on me at once; the only effort I could make was to fire at him, though the poor youth was still in his mouth.  I relied partly on Providence, partly on my own aim, and fired a musket.  The tiger staggered, and seemed agitated, which I took notice of to my companions.  Captain Downey then fired two shots, and I one more.  We retired from the jungle, and, a few minutes after, Mr. Munro came up to us all over blood and fell.  We took him on our backs to the boat, and got every medical assistance for him from the Valentine Indiaman, which lay at anchor near the Island; but in vain.  He lived twenty-four hours in the utmost torture; his head and skull were all torn and broken to pieces, and he was also wounded, by the animal’s claws, all over his neck and shoulders; but it was better to take him away, though irrecoverable, than leave him to be mangled and devoured.  We have just read the funeral service over his body, and committed it to the deep.  Mr. Munro was an amiable and promising youth.  I must observe, there was a large fire blazing close to us, composed of ten or a dozen whole trees.  I made it myself on purpose to keep the tigers off, as I had always heard it would.  There were eight or ten of the natives about us; many shots had been fired at the place; there was much noise and laughing at the time; but this ferocious animal disregarded all.  The human mind cannot form an idea of the scene; it turned my very soul within me.  The beast was about four feet and a half high, and nine long.  His head appeared as large as that of an ox; his eyes darting fire, and his roar, when he first seized his prey, will never be out of my recollection.  We had scarcely pushed our boat from that cursed shore, when the tigress made her appearance, raging, almost mad, and remained on the sand, as long as the distance would allow me to see her.”

“Oh, dreadful, Uncle Thomas!  I declare it makes my hair stand on end!”

“It is a fearful tale, John, and shows you what a scourge such an animal must be to the inhabitants of the country in which it is found.  It frequents the deserts of Asia, but in some places where civilization has commenced, it prowls about the villages and commits great havoc among the herds of the inhabitants, who therefore find it necessary to adopt various schemes for its destruction; some of these devices are very curious.

“A large cage of strong bamboos is constructed, and fastened firmly to the ground, in a place which the tigers frequent.  In this a man takes up his station for the night.  He is generally accompanied by a dog or a goat, which by its extreme agitation is sure to give notice of the tiger’s approach.  His weapons consist of two or three strong spears, and thus provided he wraps himself in his quilt, and very composedly goes to steep in the full confidence of safety.  By and by the tiger makes his appearance, and after duly reconnoitring all round, begins to rear against the cage, seeking for some means of entering.  The hunter, who watches his opportunity, thrusts one of his spears into the animal’s body, and seldom fails to destroy it.”